Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said RAC is currently evaluating the best proposals from both bidders.

The project is expected to be awarded to the successful party by the fourth quarter of this year, he added.

“The request for proposal (RFP) process has gone smoothly.

“There are two large local consortiums interested in developing the RAC land behind Ipoh railway station, which we will rebrand as Ipoh Sentral.

“We hope this will serve as a catalyst for development in the city of Ipoh, as the Ipoh railway station is an important and very busy hub,” he said during a press conference after opening the 20th Perak DAP convention today.

He added that RAC had recently carried out upgrades at the railway station to improve passenger comfort.

“There is a temporary waiting area that has been renovated for passengers. This is just a minor renovation.

“The larger development on the adjacent land will be an integrated project known as Ipoh Sentral,” said Loke.

On March 9, the media reported that the transport ministry had issued an RFP to proceed with the iRide project, based on the transit-oriented development concept.

Loke had said the RFP would be open for public participation for only two to three months, after which it would be evaluated.

On a separate matter, when queried about claims that the ETS Express service from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh took two hours and 30 minutes, Loke said the journey should by right only take two hours.

“Sometimes, the ETS encounters technical issues, but it should take around two hours.

“I will ask KTMB (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad) what operational problems are causing these delays,” he said.